Westbury residents confront waste firm over air pollution

“You’ve made my life a bloody misery.” That was just one of the views shared with representatives of a waste management firm about a smell which has plagued Westbury for almost a decade.

The confrontation came at a packed, highly charged ‘drop-in’ session last night, Monday 17th August, between residents of Westbury, Wiltshire Council, the Environment Agency, and Hills Waste Solutions.

Hills is halfway through a 25-year contract to process “non-recycled household waste” – that is, everything that goes into Wiltshire’s black bins.

Residents who live close to – and in several cases up to a mile away from – the firm’s Mechanical and Biological Treatment facility at the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre in the north of the town say that since the site first came into operation in 2013 they have suffered from bad smells – colloquially known as the Westbury Whiff.

Protesting outside the meeting with a banner, Billy Harbison told the Local Democracy Reporting Service “It’s been awful – it’s ruined our lives. We get it almost every day during the summer.”

He was one of many residents who thought the phrase ‘Westbury Whiff’ was underplaying the problem. “It’s not a whiff, he said. It’s air pollution. It makes me feel physically sick.”

Another resident, Julie Ridley, told the LDRS how she frequently suffered from a sore throat, watering eyes, nausea and headaches.

Handing an oversized postcard to the leader of Wiltshire Council, Cllr Ian Thorn, as he entered The Laverton, where the event was being held, she said, “They are breaching our human rights to clean air.”

The venue was packed. Among those meeting residents and raising concerns was MP Andrew Murrison, a fierce critic of both the MBT and the controversial waste incinerator, which is being built at the same site.

“I have been critical of the MBT for many years,” he told the LDRS. “Hills keep saying they will make things better and they don’t.”

Noting that his constituents were unable to enjoy their gardens and were forced to keep their windows closed during the recent heatwaves, he called for the MBT to be shut down.

“My constituents should not have to put up with this any longer,” he said.

Three representatives from Hills fielded questions from members of the public.

One was overheard telling a resident that instances of air pollution were increasing because the facility was “old”.

The resident expressed alarm that it was only halfway through its working life.
In a statement, Hills said waste management practises at the MBT were being reviewed in light of kerbside food waste recycling starting in 2027.

The firm said food waste would be “processed at other specialist facilities.”

It added that waste will be kept on the site for no more than 48 hours, rather than the current 14 days, before being moved to another disposal facility.

“This is expected to reduce the potential for odour at the facility,” said the firm.

None of the Environment Agency representatives at the meeting would talk to the media.

In a statement, the EA said, “We recognise the significant impact ongoing odour issues from the Northacre MBT facility in Westbury are having on local residents and understand the frustration this is causing.

“Following discussions with Hills Waste Solutions and Wiltshire Council, we have required the site operator to reduce the amount of waste accepted at the facility from 300 tonnes per day to 215 tonnes per day.

“We have also required additional measures to reduce odour emissions, including improvements to deodorising systems and the installation of further localised odour extraction controls.

“This is not the limit of our response. We will continue to closely monitor conditions in and around the site and, if these measures do not deliver sufficient improvements, we will consider further reductions in waste inputs and additional regulatory action.”

Cllr Thorn told the LDRS “I was delighted, but not surprised, by the number of residents at the drop-in.
“It’s really important that everyone involved redoubles our efforts to find a solution.”